Monday, May 18, 2015

Patriots make roster moves, bring back LB Spikes

He's baaaaack.

After spending a year with the division-rival Buffalo Bills, linebacker Brandon Spikes is back in New England, according to WEEI.com. The 27-year-old spent the first four years of his career under coach Bill Belichick, and he'll rejoin fellow linebackers Jerod Mayo and Dont'a Hightower, who have each dealt with injury issues the past couple years.

Spikes, who signed a one-year deal Monday, had a down year with Buffalo in 2014, amassing only 54 combined tackles after posting more than 85 the previous two years. He missed a tackle one out of every 7.3 attempts last season, according to ProFootballFocus, and wound up near the bottom of the barrel in terms of efficiency among linebackers.

In other roster news, the Pats said sayonara to three players Monday, including utility man Devin Gardner. The quarterback/wide receiver was brought on as an unsigned free agent the beginning of the month after setting some school records as a signal-caller with Michigan.

New England also released special teamer and cornerback Chimdi Chewka, as well as linebacker Cameron Gordon.